Integrity, trust, honesty, continuous improvement, service and safety—These are the core values of Glenroy Inc that the company says have led to its success and longevity.
Established in July 1965 by Edwin and Ruth Jablonka and their son Roy in Milwaukee, WI, Glenroy (named for Edwin’s and Ruth’s sons Glen and Roy) has always been a flexible packaging manufacturer— but more technically, a converter of films, foils and resins to make flexible packages. An early growth engine for the company was producing the film for helium balloons.
“We pride ourselves on hiring the right people and placing high expectations coupled with extensive personal responsibility requirements,” notes Tom Danneker, president and CEO. “We also provide a variety of training classes and stress employee involvement in continuous improvement and lean manufacturing principles.”
The FTA member moved to Menomonee Falls, WI in the early 1970s. Its facility has grown to more than 200,000 sq. ft. and now has greater than 220 total employees. Many of those employees—including individual operators, graphics, preprint and some management personnel—have received their Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerances (FIRST) Individual Certifications, and the company currently uses many of the FIRST principles in its printing processes.
In 2015, Glenroy acquired the pouch converting operations of PF Flexibles, providing the company with a wide range of pouch converting equipment. The acquisition allowed the company to begin offering extensive in-house premade pouch capabilities.
But through it all, there is one thing that hasn’t changed. “Being a family owned business is a fundamental principle of our culture,” says Danneker. “The third-generation owners are actively involved in the business operations, continue to invest in the company’s growth, and look to remaining a successful family business into the fourth generation.”
Reliability & Innovation
Today, Glenroy manufactures quality films and pouches enhanced with award-winning flexographic printing for the food and beverage, household and personal care, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical/nutritional, health care and industrial markets. By offering vast technical, design and printing expertise combined with personalized one-on-one technical support, Glenroy has built a reputation of reliability with its customers.
“Our flexible packaging experts listen carefully to our customers’ needs and engineer packaging film roll stock customized to their unique formulations, projected life cycles, distribution methods and filling equipment,” explains Evan Arnold, vice president of business development.
In 2013, Glenroy produced the first stand-up oil pouch in the US power sports industry, according to Arnold. “The C-TEC2 oil pouch brought a new level of convenience to snowmobile oils,” he said. “The lightweight and durable flexible pouch allows for convenient storage within an Arctic Cat snowmobile, while the pouch’s tamper-evident easy-pour spout and ergonomic angled handle facilitate fast and easy pouring of oil into the snowmobile’s compact oil reservoir.”
The flexible pouch also provides several environmental benefits, according to Arnold. Compared to a rigid oil bottle, he said the flexible pouch requires less energy and generates fewer CO2 emissions during production, resulting in a higher product-to-package ratio, requiring fewer trucks for transportation, reducing fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emission, and producing significantly less landfill waste through source reduction.
Arnold noted another important benefit of the flexible pouch—increased surface area to present the product’s benefits and attention-grabbing Arctic Cat graphics. Compared to an industry standard 32 oz. F-style quart bottle—which provides a total label area of approximately 29 sq. in.—the flexible stand-up pouch provides almost 200 sq. in. of printed surface area and allows the product to stand out on retail shelves.
A more recent innovation chosen for Yucatan Guacamole’s newly released Yucatan Guacamole Squeeze, Glenroy’s premade STANDCAP Pouch is a lightweight flexible package meant to provide mess-free dispensing. The package design maintains the avocados’ freshness and improves delivery of the product with AptarGroup SimpliSqueeze valve technology that keeps the guacamole green longer after opening.
“In terms of shelf impact, eye-tracking studies within a retail environment performed by research firm Package InSight and Clemson University showed that the premade STANDCAP Pouch was noticed 40 percent faster and viewed 53 percent longer than rigid packaging,” says Ken Brunnbauer, marketing manager. “According to a recent environmental and sustainability study by Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), choosing inverted stand-up pouches instead of glass bottles results in 65 percent less fossil fuel consumption, 77.8 percent less greenhouse gas emissions, and 80.6 percent less water usage.”
Going Green
In addition to producing unique and sustainable packaging, Glenroy has been dedicated to environmental initiatives and producing less waste. “Good stewardship of resources has been a principle of the Glenroy culture since our company was founded in 1965,” notes Robert Villarreal, director of operations. “We are dedicated to preserving the environment through air emissions control, energy conservation and recycling initiatives.”
For example, Glenroy has reduced its Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions by switching its flexographic printing from an open-air decking system to a closed central impression (CI) system, preventing VOCs from escaping into the ambient environment. “During the past three decades, we have destroyed more than 98 percent of captured VOC emissions through the use of catalytic and regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs),” Villarreal maintains. “Our RTOs utilize high-efficiency heat exchangers to thermally destroy HAPs and VOCs.”
The company has also installed energy-efficient lighting in its manufacturing facilities, and as a result has reduced energy consumption of lighting by 26 percent. Electricity consumption has been significantly reduced in winter months through the utilization of a free cooling loop on Glenroy’s process chilled water system.
In addition, Glenroy has reduced manufacturing process waste by 40 percent. “Of our recycled press wash solvent, 80 percent is processed into reusable fuel. We recycle 70 percent of the solvents used in our printing processes,” says Villarreal. “Through our recycling programs, more than 3 million pounds of materials are kept out of landfills and kept in the materials cycle every year.”
Glenroy recycles:
- Between 40 and 50 tons of packaging trim scrap every two weeks
- Approximately two tons of paper every two months
- Approximately six 55-g. drums of aluminum cans, plastic bottles and glass containers every six weeks
- Approximately 300,000-lbs. of wood pallets, sideboard and packaging every year
Future
By the end of 2020, Glenroy is planning a 100,000 sq. ft. expansion. “We can’t speak to any additional expansion plans, but we are always looking at ways to advance our production capabilities through innovation in product design and machine capability, or through expansion to increase production output,” Danneker states.
Through growth, expansion and acquisitions, Glenroy promises to continue offering the same quality and service that customers have come to know and expect. “Our customers have come to find that they can be confident that their flexible packaging is going to arrive on time and perform consistently,” Danneker concludes. “Our consistent quality, sustainable packaging and technical expertise keep our customers choosing Glenroy for years or even decades.”